“Amidst what is set to be the hottest summer on record across our country, the need for ambitious action to address global warming has never been clearer. Credit for the progress we have made since last year’s report goes to provinces who are stepping up their game in a vacuum of federal action on emissions reductions. When it comes to federal policies, little to no progress has been made towards their weak goals. It is important to recognize the effect of adjusted accounting rules this year, which make it appear that we are further along than we actually are (the “baseline” or goalpost has been changed giving the impression of better numbers without any actual meaningful policy improvements)[1]. Sadly, as the government faces the nearly insurmountable challenge of meeting their own goals, they are dismantling key institutions such as the National Roundtable on the Environment and Economy that could help them. This government has done little more over the last year than act as a lobby arm for the tar sands. Canadians need to demand a government that works towards a safe and renewable energy future, not a puppet for polluters.”

[1]Compared to the reference “business as usual” levels in last year’s installment of “Canada’s Emissions Trends”, the baseline in this year’s report is substantially lower. Since the same policies and the same emissions are now compared to a lower reference number, everything looks much better even though no real progress has been made. These seemingly improved numbers do not translate into an impact on the actual amount of greenhouse gas pollution in the atmosphere and will therefore do nothing to prevent worsening climate impacts for Canadians and across the globe.